Nightly Expressions
by DigiExpert
Summary: Rodoreamon's lullaby doesn't coax Mamiina to sleep, and she comments as much. Mamiina goes on a walk, and Rodoreamon follows. The two dance together, which brings them closer in an unexpected way.


**It's been a bit, but I've had a friend over and this particular story took a bit to write up. I'm always so careful with this particular pairing. This is my second story I did for yuri_challenge over at LiveJournal and it also finishes up the prompts I've claimed. I'm not really up for doing the other remaining Simoun fic, which is just sex and involves Paraietta and Kaimu. I really have enjoyed the challenge of the two stories I did take on though and I hope you have enjoyed them as well.**

The last notes of the lullaby faded away. Rodoreamon looked down at Mamiina, who still faced toward the wall. She noticed that Mamiina still lay awake, and that her lullaby had not coaxed the girl to rest like she had thought it would. "You're not asleep," she commented.

"How could I with your racket?" remarked Mamiina.

Rodoreamon looked away. "I'm sorry, Mamiina. I thought it would help you sleep."

Mamiina sat up in her bed and sighed. "There's no point in apologizing. What's done is done." She stretched and then looked at Rodoreamon. "You're sad, aren't you?"

"N-no… I'm not." Uncertainty and doubt were clearly readable in her voice, something she couldn't hide, especially from Mamiina.

"You're a bad liar you know."

"S-sorry." Rodoreamon's face was turning red with embarrassment.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I don't know. It seemed like the thing to do."

Mamiina pushed the sheets away and sat on the edge of the bed. "It doesn't matter. I can't sleep."

"Is it because of the mission tomorrow?"

"Of course it is. I look forward to the mission."

"Since you're paired with Neviril, right?"

Mamiina chose not to answer Rodoreamon's question. She rose to her feet and slipped on a pair of slippers. "I'm going for a walk." She headed for the door, and Rodoreamon watched silently for a few moments, watching her leave. She squeezed the largest stuffed animal she'd brought with her. It didn't comfort her.

Rodoreamon rose up and followed behind Mamiina. She carried the stuffed animals with her, hugging them close. Why had Mamiina left? Was she tired of Rodoreamon, or was something else bothering her? Well, it didn't matter. She would still follow after Mamiina, even if Mamiina didn't want her too. It didn't matter what Mamiina said. She only wished she could verbalize her true feelings.

The hallway was dark, illuminated only by the moonlight. Mamiina was much further down, but Rodoreamon walked quickly and quietly after her, clutching her stuffed animals close against her. She watched as Mamiina entered the ballroom. It was eerily quiet. No one was around, and shadows played on the walls. Rodoreamon hunched her shoulders, trying to make herself smaller. She didn't care much for the darkness. It played too many tricks on one's mind.

"Why'd you follow me?" came a voice from beside her.

She turned to find Mamiina standing nearby, one hand on her hip. She flushed and looked toward the floor. "I thought you might want some company. Do you want me to go?"

Mamiina sighed. "No, you can stay. I suppose I wouldn't mind the company." She turned and looked toward the maaju pool.

"Would doing maaju help you relax so you could sleep?"

"I'm not interested in doing maaju right now."

"Oh. I see." Rodoreamon was quiet for a few moments, looking down. She didn't know what else to suggest that Mamiina might want to do. She wasn't even sure Mamiina wanted her around, no matter what she said. She couldn't read the girl, and every time she thought she could, she had been wrong. Mamiina always had a remark or reply that would embarrass her inside. Still, she wanted to be closer to Mamiina and get to know her. She wanted the girl's friendship, and perhaps more. She hoped Mamiina felt the same way.

"You're trying to think of something else, aren't you?" asked Mamiina, looking over at Rodoreamon. She had to give the girl credit; she never gave up. She watched as Rodoreamon nodded her head. Sighing, Mamiina said, "I thought so. Would it make you happy if we danced?" She gestured to the music player.

Rodoreamon looked toward the music player, and then back at Mamiina. "Are you sure?" she asked quietly.

"If you don't want to, we don't—"

"No!" she replied, a little too loudly. She tried again. "No, I do. I wanted to see if you did too."

Mamiina walked over to the music player and pulled the handle. A tune wafted out, the same waltzing tune that was familiar to any Sibylla who had been on the Arcus Prima for a period of time. Turning to Rodoreamon, she held out her hand gallantly. "Come on, little ladyship," she called, using the familiar nickname for Rodoreamon.

Hesitantly, Rodoreamon reached out and placed her hand in Mamiina's. She dropped the stuffed animals she held as Mamiina pulled her closer. They began their waltz, gliding gracefully on the floor. At least, they started out gracefully.

Not one to admit it, Mamiina was more focused on where her feet were being placed rather than Rodoreamon and the dance. She had never been trained in the art of dance as Rodoreamon had. She only knew bits and pieces that had been passed on to her through family members and the other servants, but she was in no way a competent dancer.

"What's wrong?" asked Rodoreamon.

"Nothing," replied Mamiina quickly. "Nothing's wrong."

"You keep watching the floor. Are you nervous?"

"No, I'm not," answered Mamiina, turning a bit red in the face. She was becoming flustered by all the questions Rodoreamon was asking. She was completely out of her element. Why had she suggested dancing in the first place?

Instead of commenting on Mamiina's trouble with keeping up, she smiled and said, "Do you remember the dance my family held when we were little? You came to it."

"I only came to it because your father wanted you to have company. I wouldn't have been invited otherwise. None of the servants were allowed to go unless they were assisting with the dance or food preparation."

"But you wore that pink dress and we danced together. We had a lot of fun, Mamiina."

Mamiina dropped Rodoreamon's arms and stepped back, crossing her arms. "Now we're going to travel down memory lane?"

"What's wrong, Mamiina?"

"Nothing. But I don't want to do that. So please stop."

Gathering herself, Rodoreamon smiled, and then nodded. "All right. I won't. Would you like to finish the dance?"

"Yes."

Once again, the two moved together and glided with the music, stepping in time. Rodoreamon smiled up at Mamiina, who offered a small smile back.

"How do you do that?"

"No matter what I say to you, you will soon be smiling again."

"Oh… I don't know. I just try to tell myself that you aren't really mad at me."

"But what if I am?"

"W-well…" She paused. "I still do the same." Here, the music player stopped, the tune at end. Neither girl noticed the silence that surrounded them, or that their voices were the only things to be heard.

"Why though?"

Here, Rodoreamon looked away and down at the floor. Her face became red. "No reason…" she whispered, almost too softly for Mamiina to pick up on.

"What?" asked Mamiina, not as forceful as she'd been before.

"Because…because…" The rest of her words were too softly spoken to hear.

"I couldn't hear you."

Rodoreamon's head turned quickly to look toward her. "Because I love you," she stated. Her outburst surprised her, and she pulled away from Mamiina, looking down at the floor. She held her arms close against her, as though it would make her smaller. She hadn't meant to express that out loud like that. She had wanted to say it, but she hadn't believed now to be the right time.

Mamiina was unsure as to how to react. She looked at Rodoreamon, wanting to speak, but no words came out. It was out of character for Rodoreamon to be so brave and bold. She could only remember one time before, and that was on the Messis. She shook her head to clear her mind. "What in the world, Rodoreamon?"

Again, Rodoreamon looked up at her. Once more she seemed to have gathered her courage. "I said I love you, Mamiina. I don't know if you feel the same, but I love you. No matter what you do to me, I do."

Mamiina then watched as Rodoreamon turned away, gathered up her stuffed animals, and began to walk toward the Sibyllae rooms. She stood, rooted to her spot, unable to move. Her brain suddenly kicked in and she found herself running after Rodoreamon, attempting to catch up with her. It wasn't hard since Mamiina was only walking, trudging along at times. She caught her before she walked down the steps in the hallway. "Rodoreamon, stop. Wait." She breathed a sigh of relief as the girl stopped, but did not turn around.

She reached out, and turned the girl around. She stepped back in surprise, realizing immediately that Rodoreamon was upset and crying, squeezing the stuffed animals she carried tightly. Was she the cause of it? Something stirred within her, something she never realized had existed before now. She couldn't name it, but the feeling made her ache to know she was most likely the cause for the crying. She pulled Mamiina into her arms, and held the girl close against her breast.

Rodoreamon cried softly into Mamiina's nightgown, releasing the hold on the plushes and pushing them aside, letting them fall to the floor. She felt the warmth enveloped around her, which calmed her down, and soon her crying became mere sniffles. When she looked up at Mamiina, her face was red, nose stuffy. She didn't speak; she didn't want to ruin the moment.

Mamiina watched the girl's face for a few moments. She looked childish, crying over something like that. Sibyllae should be more dignified than that. She realized her reaction and then thought it through. In the end, she leaned over and kissed Rodoreamon softly on the lips. "Don't cry, little ladyship. It's not right to see you cry like that."

"S-sorry," answered Rodoreamon, looking away.

Mamiina used her hand to guide Rodoreamon to look at her once more. "I don't want to see you cry again. It's not right." She leaned over once more and kissed Rodoreamon, this time lingering for much longer. When she pulled away, she released Rodoreamon, and headed for her bedroom.

Rodoreamon watched from her spot atop the steps, fingers gently touching her lips, before quickly following after her. She managed to slip into the room just before Mamiina shut the door. Mamiina said nothing, acting as though what had just transpired between them did not really happen. She climbed back into her bed instead, pulling the sheets up around her.

As though repeating the scene from before, Rodoreamon sat on the side of the bed, stuff animals still in hand. "Can I sing you a lullaby, Mamiina?"

"Sure," answered Mamiina, not protesting this time around. She closed her eyes as Rodoreamon lifted her head and began to sing the first notes of the soft tune once more. She did not chastise or comment, and instead, let the melody carry her off to sleep and dream of things long forgotten, the things that made her happiest, but that she'd never admit to anyone.

Rodoreamon looked down at Mamiina when she finished the lullaby, listening to the girl's steady breathing. She'd fallen asleep this time around. She couldn't help but smile at the way Mamiina slept. There was a peaceful look on her face, one of calmness and serenity, something that appeared out of place, but made Mamiina all the more beautiful. Rodoreamon tucked the sheets around Mamiina and then leaned over, kissing her softly on the forehead. Without another word, she gathered her stuffed animals, and returned to her own room, at ease with herself and with what was to come tomorrow. She felt she could face the mission, knowing that she'd finally been able to speak her feelings out loud.


End file.
